1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved projectile construction. In particular, the present invention relates to an improved penetrator warhead assembly having enhanced target-defeating capabilities, as well as improved insensitive munitions characteristics.
2. State of the Art
Implementing an effective penetrating projectile, such as a warhead, often involves balancing competing factors. A warhead should have adequate penetration, blast and fragmentation properties in order to effectively destroy the intended target. Targets that are difficult to defeat, such as buried or fortified targets, require a high degree of warhead penetration in order to be destroyed. The penetrability of a warhead can be increased by modifying the shape and strength of the nose section, as well as increasing the overall wall thickness of the warhead. As a result of such modifications, the payload volume of the warhead is decreased. Therefore to maintain the same degree of blast performance in such modified warheads, a smaller quantity of explosive payload material must be used that is capable of producing the same explosive performance as larger quantities of explosive.
Another important objective in warhead design is the ability to control detonation of explosive payloads carried by the warhead so as to avoid accidental of premature explosion of the warhead. In this regard, the military has increasingly demanded that contractors develop weapons systems that are less volatile and therefore less likely to explode unintentionally. These requirements are often referred to as xe2x80x9cInsensitive Munitionsxe2x80x9d (IM) requirements and are set forth in military standard MIL-STD-2105.
Warheads that have favorable IM characteristics are not only safer to handle, but are also relatively more effective in defeating targets that are hard to penetrate since detonation of the explosive payload of the warhead can be more precisely controlled, thereby delaying detonation until the warhead has adequately penetrated the target.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a warhead assembly that has good penetrability and blast performance, while also having enhanced IM characteristics.
The present invention is directed to providing warhead assemblies which are constructed to achieve optimal target penetration and destruction capabilities, as well as having favorable IM characteristics which render the warhead assembly safer and easier to more precisely control detonation. In exemplary embodiments, a warhead assembly of the present invention has penetration performance comparable with known warhead configurations such as the BLU-109 warhead, and blast performance comparable with the known Mark 83 bomb. The warhead assembly also conforms with certain IM standards as set forth in MIL-STD-2105.
Generally speaking, exemplary embodiments are directed to a warhead assembly including a warhead casing having a substantially ogive-shaped nose portion, a substantially cylindrical aft portion at an end of the warhead opposite from the nose portion, and a vent disposed along said aft portion of said warhead assembly.
Other exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to a warhead assembly having a warhead casing including a vented aft end portion, the casing being filled to a predetermined level with an explosive material, and the warhead assembly being constructed such that it will not explode when subjected to fast cook-off conditions.
Further exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to a warhead casing which comprises an ogive-shaped end portion, and a substantially cylindrically-shaped aft end portion at an end of the warhead opposite from a nose portion, a bore formed in the aft end portion, an aft closure ring fitted within the bore, and a vent disposed within the aft closure ring. The casing is filled to a predetermined level with an explosive material, the explosive material having a composition including: